


through victory, our people are broken

by NotSummer



Series: The Duoverse [3]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Angst, Developing Friendships, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Male-Female Friendship, Sith, The Dark Side of the Force, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 19:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12801051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotSummer/pseuds/NotSummer
Summary: Ar'kass is nearly invincible. Nassath has never seen her flinch, and he has yet to see anyone ever have a chance of challenging the warrior. He's been relying on her alliance with him to get through Sith politics and customs.And yet- here, with the Ravager in her hand, she's terrified.





	through victory, our people are broken

“I shouldn’t have to remind you that surprises are dangerous, Nassath.” Lovely. Vanji’s stewing seems to have upgraded to _intense_ stewing. “Kallig warned you. I warned you. And you walk in there cheerfully ready for some pleasant surprise? This is Kaas. You need to be more careful.”

Easy for her to say, as they stride towards Darth Baras’ office. The lords and apprentices scurry out of her way as she stalks towards her master’s office, and Nassath hurries in her wake. Normally, she shortens her stride for him.

Today is not one of those days, and honestly, sometimes he wonders why he sticks with her. Khem is keeping up fine, strolling along at her shoulder, while Vette gives him a commiserating glance. Both them are nearly jogging to keep up with their more… irritable partners.

“Vanj, c’mon. I got a  _starship_. And Zash still needs me.” Maybe if she looks bad and sees him lagging, she’ll remember to slow down.

She glances back, and once again, he has to stifle a grimace as the dull toxic yellow infecting her normally luminous silver eyes.This planet is rotten.

Bless her though- she does shorten her stride, a hint of sheepishness in her eyes. He smiles at her in thanks, even if it’s more of a grimace.

She hesitates on the threshold, her hand straying towards her utility belt where the Ravager device is hidden. She’s nervous- and it’s the only time he can remember seeing her so. He supposes to an alien masquerading as a human who has joined the Sith, a device with the ability to force you to reveal all your secrets is frightening.

She can’t fight this with her lightsabers, and she’s out of her depth. Her body language is brittle as she listens to Baras interrogate the unlucky spy, and her hands, tucked behind her back, shake.

“I could be a Jedi spy,” Nassath mutters. Baras is human, or so Nassath has heard, so Vanji’s Echani hearing will pick up on his soft words, but not Baras. “Jedi women, Jedi food, sunlight, no anti-alien bantha shit. No slavery, that’s a  _good_ one. Allies. Those are good, too.”

He keeps up a steady stream of chatter, and Vanji seems to relax. It’s startling- he normally lets her and her eager blades take on his enemies, and lets her frighten off those who threaten him. She stands behind him menacingly, and people choose not to take issue with whatever comment he’s said. He needs her: he’s without allies on this Force-forsaken storm battered mudball of a planet, except for the heiress turned Sith.

It’s… odd to think she might need him for something. Odd to think his presence can be reassuring. Not, of course, that he’s a bad fighter. He’s talented and Nassath knows it. Vanji won’t wield a double-bladed saber, and she’s certainly not prone to stealth or lightning.

He keeps talking (that’s easy), but his mind is on her now still hands and her lighter posture. He doesn’t think she’s paying attention to what he says, but as they exit, she stalks down a hallway he hasn’t used before. It’s empty, and for a second he thinks she might off him for daring to see her afraid.

That’s not what happens.

She’s silent, and she opens her mouth to speak before closing it again. She tries again, and her words falter, but she forces them out, “If you wish to ‘be a spy with the Jedi’, I am willing to do what I can to make that happen.”

He can’t say anything, he’s too shocked. That’s treason, and the Vanji he thinks he knows is a proud Sith and citizen of the Empire. It’s startlingly compassionate and altruistic, too. It’s something he convinced himself he wanted to see in her. He had seen glances of it before, but he told himself it was a trick of the mind.

Apparently it wasn’t. Apparently there was a decent person hiding under her armor.

“Who would watch your back? You need me here,” slips out, and honestly, he’s surprised at how unsurprised he is at his own answer.

The yellow fades for a second, the silver returning, and she dips her head, swallowing. Her voice is shaky as she retorts, “I can defend myself.”

That, he should have expected.

“Thank you, Nassath.” He can barely make out the words, but the struggle in her eyes is clear. Her discomfort with emotion, genuine emotion is waging war in her eyes. Still, he can watch her walls rebuild themselves, and the gold rushes back into her eyes as if it had never left.

**Author's Note:**

> Vanji is a murderous mess and I love it. Nassath is a well-meaning talkative mess and I love it.


End file.
